I. ˈslā verb
( slew -lü ; slain -lān ; slaying ; slays )
Etymology: Middle English slan, slen, from Old English slēan to strike, beat, slay; akin to Old High German slahan to strike, beat, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan to strike, beat, Middle Irish slacaim I beat
transitive verb
1.
a. : to deprive of life by force : put (a person) to death violently : murder
began to throttle his enemy, meaning … to slay him — Rudyard Kipling
b. : to strike down : kill
gradually they were eliminated, slaughtered by bullets or slain by disease — Philip Mason
2. : to put (an animal) to death especially for food or as a sacrifice : slaughter
growers slew laying hens when poultryless Thursday depressed prices — advt
3. : to stifle or destroy completely : eradicate , suppress
these semiautomatic words and phrases should be slain — J.E.Gloag
the great love she … had she was slaying — Rose Macaulay
4. : to affect overpoweringly : overwhelm
used to slay myself with exhaustion — Eve Langley
slays the girls with his rugged virility — C.J.Rolo
intransitive verb
: to cause death : kill
no other infection so quickly slays — Journal American Medical Association
Synonyms: see kill
II.
variant of sley